CZECH AROUSAL CHECK
Human rights’ advocates condemned the Czech Republic last month after it emerged that immigration services used heterosexual pornography to test applicants seeking asylum on the basis of sexual orientation. According to the BBC, the Czech Republic was the only country left that used the ‘sexual arousal’ test. Gay asylum seekers are shown straight pornography while hooked up to a machine that monitors blood-flow to the penis. The Fundamental Rights Agency said it was ‘dubious’ whether [the test] reached sufficiently clear conclusions.
BLATTER’S BLOOPER
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has apologised after saying gay football fans shouldn’t have sex in Qatar when the nation holds the 2022 World Cup. Last month, when Blatter was asked about gay football fans, he said, ‘I would say they should refrain from any sexual activities’. The Qatar criminal code punishes gay sex with up to five year in prison. Gay campaigners were furious at his initial comments, according to Pink News. The football icon said it was not his intention to discriminate and that he was sorry if anyone had been offended by his comments.
FIRST US TRANS* JUDGE
A trans* woman made history in the US last month after she was sworn in as the first-ever gender diverse trial judge. Victoria Kolakowski took the oath at the Superior Court in December after beating deputy district attorney, John Creighton with 51 per cent of the vote. Ms Kolakowski transitioned in 1989 and has over 20 years of legal and judicial experience. She will now serve as a Superior Court judge in Alameda County, California.
GERMANY’S HIV CURE?
Doctors claimed to have cured a U.S man of HIV using stem-cells in 2008. Timothy Ray Brown was diagnosed with HIV in 1995 and then later found out he also had leukaemia in 2006. Doctors sought a stem-cell transplant for Brown when chemotherapy turned out to be too aggressive for his body. Weeks after the transplant, Brown no longer showed any signs of HIV in his bloodstream, according to HIV Plus Magazine. Medical authorities sought out stem cells from people whose immune systems were resistant to the virus, which only occurs in about one per cent of Europeans. The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine last month and said this case was an isolated one.
OFCOM NOT OUTRAGED
British broadcasting watchdog Ofcom, said they would not intervene with the BBC’s decision to interview an anti-gay ‘extremist’. Stephen Green, known to support the execution of HIV-positive men, was invited by the BBC to speak about news of Elton John pursuing a child through surrogacy. According to Pink News, about 100 people complained about Green’s segment to Ofcom. But the watchdog said Green’s interview did not contain ‘aggressive incitement or derogatory language’ and that the news piece was a celebratory one with Green’s opinion as a counter argument. Mr Green said ‘This isn’t just a designer baby for Sir Elton John, this is a designer accessory’.
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